New Galaxy S6 Leak Confirms Radical Samsung Plans

Few smartphones generate as much interest as iPhones, but the Samsung Galaxy S range is easily next in line. Unfortunately for Samsung it also suffers the same Swiss cheese security as
Apple and following major leak after major leak its plans to step in a brave new direction have now been spoilt by a carrier.

Vodafone Netherlands is the carrier likely to be on the end of a furious Samsung phone call after its site accidentally published a product page for the ‘Samsung Galaxy S6’ and, more interestingly, left visible code for a mysterious ‘Samsung Galaxy S Edge’.

Accidental Vodafone Galaxy S6 product page - image credit Vodafone

Eagle eyed Dutch tech site Galaxy Club picked up on both the missteps and the news appears to finally nail down reports that Samsung will release two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S6. While the Galaxy S6 itself is expected to be the most radical reinvention of the S range to date, it is the new ‘Edge’ variant which excites most.

Expected to be based on the Galaxy Note Edge released late last year, it would mean the phone sports a touchscreen display along its right edge. This works independently of the main screen providing shortcuts, widgets and controls allowing the main screen to be completely filled by games or video without wasting space.

After initially being regarded as a gimmick on release, critical response to the Galaxy Note Edge has been positive and it appears Edge variants of its two most popular ranges is now a key strategy for the company. Something Samsung will also hope inspires developers to utilise the edge display.

Why would Samsung need two variants of the Galaxy S if the edge display is so good?

Firstly the additional screen consumes more power so battery life is affected, and secondly it adds significant cost. In the case of the Note Edge it was nearly 40% more than the Note 4.

So until Apple gets major developer uptake and enough sales to introduce greater scales of economy this A/B approach makes sense.

Furthermore at this stage Samsung’s key focus remains the Galaxy S6. After lackluster sales of the Galaxy S5, Samsung is expected to make the S6 more revolution than evolution after incremental S3, S4 and S5 updates.

More worryingly reports also suggest the Galaxy S6 will have a smaller 2550 mAh battery (compared to 2800 mAh in the S5) and a larger 5.5-inch display, something I believe would be utterly stupid.

So while change is needed I think Samsung’s biggest risk with the Galaxy S6 is actually changing too much all at once. There’s some irony to that, but it is the dangerous side effect that comes from sitting still for too long.

I am an experienced freelance technology journalist. I have written for Wired, The Next Web, TrustedReviews, The Guardian and the BBC in addition to Forbes. I began in b2b print journalism covering tech companies at the height of the dot com boom and switched to covering con...